Some cool "Cities" teases in the intro (last performance 9/13/88). The jam starts with a brief jam on Santana's "Gypsy Queen," then breaks into several distinct sections of perhaps not beautiful, but VERY exploratory jamming. Returns to "Antelope" with several peaks and Trey shredding.

After successfully navigating the treacherous early sections, there's a palpable sense of energy as the lyrical section of Clod ends, leading to a super Page solo complimented by great play from Trey. An excellent Bundle of Joy gives that momentary sense of an impending train wreck, before the band explodes into a powerful, notably strong Arrival, featuring pounding Fish and great licks from Trey.

The jam from this fiery, intense version was attached to the end of the song "Demand" on the studio album Hoist. In a 1994 interview, Trey noted this performance marked the beginning of a watershed, 14-month period, during which the band really clicked and coalesced on "SOAM's" complex jam rhythm. Not surprisingly, the golden age of "SOAM" overlaps with this 1993 - 1994 period of technical mastery considerably.

Nice interplay between Trey and Page in the breakdown section, then the jam seems to be headed for home with a fiery peak, but instead veers off-course into more improvisational jamming, gradually diminishing unfinished, and (arguably) > to "Gumbo."

First of several strong August '93 "Hoods." Improvisational and restrained playing by Trey shifts at 10:00 when Page plays some low register piano chords, and the power starts to surge upward. Fantastic "Hood."

The Chairman of the Boards shines once again. Trey's confident guitar work gets the ball rolling with a strong Fluff's Travels, and continues through the perilous Chase section. An intense, frenzied, Who Do? We Do! and crisp Clod evince a band performing at a mastery level, the stuff of August '93 lore. Arrival includes some great and iconic Trey licks, and rock solid Fish.

August '93 = improvisation. This "Possum" inculdes a cool intro, a jam with moments of improvisation spread throughout, a "Tequila" tease, a crafty transition back to lyrics, and then hysterical Mike singing an octave lower.

The jam starts into a tense, exploratory groove before launching into a stunning, melodic Mike/Trey duet. At 12:00, the tension and power return, but the jam doesn't return to "SOAM" proper until 14:00.

Mike mows everyone down on this bass-centric version. 1994 is a great year for "Esther," and here is one reason why. Page's and Trey's solos smoke, but it's Mike's powerful playing that distinguishes this version, not a song one normally associates with Mike.

Riveting, powerful version. Page travels way up the keyboard, and the ending of his section is so dynamic that it sounds like the grand finale. Then Trey works all the way up the fretboard, with Page briefly (and uncharacteristically) on the B-3, before launching the band into a blistering build-up.

Fantastic, improvisational '94-style jamming. One of the very best versions of "DwD," but oh so different from the funk versions of later years. Includes a -> "Have Mercy" -> "DwD." Somewhat unusual ending with -> to "Lifeboy."

Awesome version in which Trey brings the volume down close to zero, things start to rebuild, then from 10:50 - 11:30, there's this great section where you can feel the explosion coming before it arrives. And it does, BIG TIME.

Mike and Fish lead this one early on, with Mike playing way up the fret bar and Fish maintaining the pulse. Trey adds power chords and little flourishes. Then Trey has takes the lead, with Fish and Page hammering away.

A quick, uneventful 1st jam drops swiftly into deep, dark Summer '95 exploration. At first, this 2nd jam is mostly a threatening, evil soundscape. But a steady beat from Mike and Fish, and directed playing by Trey bring it back to a rocking form. Following some pulsing play from 12:00 to 15:30, things slip back into the murky abyss, where they remain until a welcome brightening and -> to "Contact."

At about 7:30, departs from standard "Julius" into several new directions. Returns to the song several times, only to venture out again, further into new territory, including funk and reggae modes. Perhaps fitting that the only, truly exploratory "Julius" transitions to the only, truly exploratory "Slave."

The "Type II" version. The band breaks into a dissonant, spacey jam following the standard one that eventually > to "The Lizards." "Slave" purists may not care for this one, but cannot deny its improvisational aspect.

The first "Tube" to break out of the box begins with sweet funk in the first jam, while the jam reprise drops into some space, builds back up to more funk, and coasts into the -> to "Slave". A fan-favorite.

> in from "Timber." Great, short version loosens out of funk mode briefly, mellows into more funk and -> to the first "Boogie On Reggae Woman" in 988 shows (last seen on 9/13/88). The "Wolfman's" release really comes in the sweet jam out of "BORW."

Busted out after a 989 show gap and segues smoothly out of Wolfman's Brother. The '97 style outro jam is distinct and deviates from the structure of "Boogie" at 5 minutes and is played at a slower tempo than recent versions. Transitions to a hot "Reba".

A very good version, especially given the year, when "Bowie" was well past its improvisational peak. Gathering power as it progresses, the "Type I" jam builds on classic "Bowie" fundamentals - dark under and overtones, mounting tension, and strong musicianship by all four.

Relentless molten neon electro rockslide that comes to rest in a glistening mountain lake. [Fish and Mike lead a fantastic, uptempo groove, and as Trey pours it on, you can literally hear the audience get whipped into a frenzy, then soothed with a great outro.]

An upbeat and snappy groove develops beyond "BOAF", which then bounces between spacey and pumped-up forays. The band was apparently playing along to a wild thunder and lightning storm occurring at the time.

Departs from "Limb" proper around 8:00 and heads into a dark, subdued jam during which Trey plays keyboard for a good portion. Not to everyone's liking, but more exploratory than most versions. Returns to "Limb" to conclude.

The jam begins with a haunting, scary groove over the basic structure. At 9:30, there's a transition segment with standout playing by Page and Mike. Then at 10:45 Trey hits the keyboards in a weird sonic combo. Released on Live Bait Vol. 7.

Awesome yin yang version. The 1st jam is a rocking, intense incendiary groove, while the 2nd is its serene, blissful and introspective foil. This version was the last "Mike's" to feature a significant 2nd jam until 2015.

Trey deploys the Leslie, evoking shades of a '95 "Slave," a bit of an anachronism pleasantly befitting '00. The jam provides a welcome cool down, featuring great and extended Page soloing augmented by Trey, who leads the band through an outro notable for an additional ambient pasage.

The jam begins with a semi-dark tone, includes some nice Trey/Page interplay, and Trey makes it more interesting by varying the melodic lines away from standard "Mike's.". Around 10:00, the jam settles into more spacey, effects-heavy play, where it remains until a -> "Free."

Good -> in from "Piper," this is the first ever stand-alone "Weekapaug." The jam is spirited, exploratory, and includes a dark, tension-filled section from 4:40 - 5:30 that makes the ensuing return to "Weekapaug" all the sweeter.

Intense and highly improvisational jam with more of a rocking, propulsive and edgy sentiment, and in this way similar to the '94 - '95 "Gins." In the final minutes, the band toys with the "Gin" theme in a dark, twisted manner.

Excellent "Type II" version which starts to break away from "BDTNL" at 5:30 in a rocking and upbeat direction. At 8:30, the jam shifts into an ominous, dark Mike-led groove with great playing by Fish and Page as well as Mike.

Following the vocal jam, the band breaks into a funky groove with a very 2011 sound to it (a bit of the staccato or "plinko" funk, somewhat similar to the 12/28/11 "Cities") that eventually gets "Manteca"-esque before dissolving into a spacey jam. > to "Harry Hood," a highly acclaimed combo among fans.

At 6:15, the jam breaks from "Twist," taking on a haunting, spectral tone that grows increasingly powerful. The jam settles briefly, then gains energy and gets more upbeat before winding down and > to "Halley's Comet."

Again, a jam emerges following the closing refrain. Beginning in a relaxed, minor mode groove, the mode shifts to major, and Trey works into a great theme/melody. After bringing the play to a peak and transition settling, the energy rebuilds and -> to "Tweezer."

Trey pushes through a few early miscues to share in Mike's incendiary groove. Via rhythmic shifts in meter and tone, Trey constructs a mellow, effects-enriched jam, which, colored by Page's wraithlike atmospherics, coasts atop Fish's steady beat, before driving the version to a strong conclusion.

Mixing some great new sounds, especially Page, with a fairly familiar jamming pattern, the band succeeds in recycling a formulaic, major mode and upbeat-oriented jam into a warm and very fresh sounding performance with a Trey-led peak.

If Super Bowl LI were a song... it would sound like this. [Excellent, unusual, and highly musical version. As if a malleable substance, Trey employs any number of ideas - and works an array of pitches - to fashion light from an atonal sort of darkness.]

"Wombat"'s second big ride shrugs off some dubious vocals to deliver a hard-charging "Ghost"-esque late night groove that morphs into delicious major key rocking out. Mike's work, in particular, is a joy to behold. Collapses into bubbly ambiance, then > into "Chalk Dust Torture".

Jam chart versions are selected because of improvisational and other characteristics that distinguish these from typical versions of the song.
The jam chart team has highlighted some versions with a yellow background; these are the versions the team believes to be especially improvisational, or otherwise notable.
A purple date indicates that you were in attendance.

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